[gratz]

OK, here is the thought process and some concerns that have been running around in my head.. The original plan was to stay with the 4 lug wheels, get the halibrand replicas and radial TAs and be done... then I start thinking (always a problem!!). For the price of the halibrands I can upgrade to 5 lug and put a set of 15" Torque Thrust or Bullits on the car. Well, I'm not sure the Torque Thrusts will fit (any thoughts?), so I look at the Bullits. Now with the Bullits you get a greater selection of tires, if I go with a better tire (than the radial TAs), then am I going to have to deal with wheel hop and if so, does this mean I need to either weld in new upper control arm mounts (I'm definately not a welder!!), go with the new 3 link or what!! Now that I have the bigger 17" tires, will the factory brakes (front disk and rear drum) look stupid and will I have to upgrade here??

I'm beginning to get concerned that by 'saving' a couple dollars not buying the halibrands will actually cost me hundreds in upgrades!! Then I think (there is that problem again), that if I do it now, it will save me from doing it later!

Any thoughts, if any of this makes sense, would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Gratz

 

[Richard Oben]

Just get the 4 lug 17 in halibrands and your problems are solved. If you decide later you want real race tires then get a set of 4 lug Cobra Rs with race tires. Hope this helps. Cheers Richard.

 

[charlieg]

Gratz:
I went through the same thought process as you. I was driven by the fact that I actually prefer the look of the Torque Thrust (I actually wanted the Crager SS wheels) over the Halibrands, and the reality that I could do it for less money.
I went with Summit kits for the 4 to 5 lug conversions -- paid more than I would have if I tromped through a junk yard looking at old twisted Bronco rear axles and whatever the front discs come off of, but getting brand new stuff that I knew would fit for less than $400 appealed to me.
To my dismay, the 15" Crager SS wheels won't fit (back space not right, as is the case with the 15" Torque Thrusts), so I've gone with the 17" Torque Thrust IIs (will have the tires professionally mounted

). I explored the Eagle Alloy 502s, but they aren't available in the backspace needed.
So in the end I'm spending about what I would have spent for the Halibrands, but I REALLY like the look of the Torque Thrust IIs -- the polished aluminum with the '60s look is a great combination.
And as for the brakes -- paint them flat black and they won't be noticed much.
Charlie

 

[raceral]

Problem solved... just call Jeff Collins @ www.whitbymotorcars.com
and get a set of his very nice looking halibrand replica wheels.. you can have the best of both worlds.. nice looks and low cost.. around 1150 for wheels and tires

 

[BillG]

Gratz,
Go with the 4 lug Hilibrands and stop thinking, it'll keep you up at night!
Like Richard said you can always get 17" cobra R's for racing tires. Plus you don't ever really finish one of these cars anyway, right?

 

[John F]

Like they said, except get the 4 lug halibrand 15's for better street ride and get the 4 lug Cobra R 17's for racing. It's only money

 

[67Cobra]

I don't understand the part about 4 lug wheels preventing wheel hop.

 

[FFR1668]

Hey Dave
Make your life simple.
Bill
Can I borrow your car for the week end?
I need a Speed Vision tape of howling engines
to play while I sit in my car.
Later
Bill
Dave Meet another FFR owner in Essex. Got a price sorta quoted 2000. Cape Ann Auto Body in Essex
Ask for Steve Pascucci

 

[GregR]

Gratz,

Here's what I did:

5-lug conversion = $80
New Bullitt wheels with new 245/45ZR/17 Goodyears = $900

Sure, I went through a salvage yard for the axles and rotors, but I like doing that stuff. Bought new bearings and seals.

There's companies that sell new take-off Bullitt wheels and tires on Ebay, usually $900-950.

If you use the Mark VII front rotors there's a small mod you have to make to them to mount the Bullitt wheels, very easy to do. Email me if you decide to go this route.

Greg

 

[David G]

Greg, how do I tell if I've got MK VII front rotors? I got a 91 saleen donor and it just now occurred to me that I don't know if I have standard or MK VII fronts. They use a MK VII rear axle for disc brakes.

How do I tell the difference on the front?

 

[gratz]

Now see!!

I was good up until GREGR posted!! I was reading along, starting to think that the 4 lug halibrands are the way to go, then I saw Gregs picture with the Bullits!! Even if I go the $400 route for the conversion kit instead of the junkyard route, I'm still ahead of the Halibrands.

Thanks everybody....I'm still confused.

And Bill, sorry, can't let you take the car, I've got the pipes off now that I'm playing with the body!! Though I hear that you have a new engine to start playing with (This post started because of a stop at Fortes!!)

Gratz

 

[bk347]

Gratz, I'm from Plymouth and I'm using the 15" Torque Thrusts; a friend of mine lives in Kingston and he's using the 17" Torque Thrust II's and there's a car in Mashpee using the 4-lug Halibrands. If you want to come see, e-mail or call me 1-508-888-7227. Bob

 

[PepeBorja]

Mine's a budget build so I got the best deal I could find at the tirerack. Got these 4 lug 15" Borbett wheels with Dunlop tires for $640 shipped to my door. I did not want 17" because I like the look of the 15" with fat tires.

I figured I'd get the 5 lug upgrade with discs on all corners at a later time, along with the 15" Hallie's replica wheels. This strategy will give me time to find a deal from someone moving from 15" to 17". Right now, my goal is to keep it low cost.

Jose

[ March 15, 2002: Message edited by: Pepe Borja ]

 

[millinium_al]

Nobody answered Mikes question.

Mike... wheel hop is not a 4 lug to 5 lug issue, it's going from a 15" so-so rubber to a 17" or larger sticky rubber. The added bit seams to expose the wheel hop issue.

 

[67Cobra]

Sorry, it was just a sarcastic question. It just seems to me that using inferior tires to avoid wheel hop is a questionable approach. Kind of like disconnecting a couple of spark plug wires. Just fix the problem and don't count the cost in the equation for what size wheels to buy.